"Upgrades, People, Upgrades" [Kuaizhou-1A Flight-28]
An upgraded Kuaizhou-1A has delivered its first payload into orbit.
ExPace has flown the first mission using its upgraded Kuaizhou-1A with a liftoff from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 12:46 pm China Standard Time, or 04:46 am Universal Coordinated Time, on December 4th.
Riding to low Earth orbit atop the upgraded vehicle was the 400-kilogram Haishao-1 (海哨一号) synthetic aperture radar remote-sensing satellite, from the Xi'an Interstellar Cloud Network Company, Hainan Aerospace Information Research Institute, Qilu Aerospace Information Research Institute, and Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The satellite will be used to monitor ocean properties and changes in Belt and Road Initiative countries, likely relating to global warming and aquaculture resources. Haishao-1’s main instrument is an X-band multi-polarization synthetic aperture radar with a resolution of approximately one meter.
In the post-launch blog post from ExPace, the company stated that the vehicle’s lift capacity, fairing volume, reliability, and performance had been increased. The larger fairing is the most visible change to the Kuaizhou-1A vehicle with it now being 1.8 meters in diameter, wider than the usual 1.4 meter fairing. Payload capacity has also been increased, from 300 to 450 kilograms for low Earth orbit and 200 to 300 kilograms for a 700-kilometer sun-synchronus orbit.
Kuaizhou-1A's fourth stage has also been improved, and it is capable of being restarted. ExPace believes that a restartable stage will attract more satellites for a single launch whilst also allowing for different deployment orbits.
ExPace also stated that other improvements such as debris drop zone control and payload ratio optimization (payload mass compared to vehicle mass) were made to today’s launch.
Today’s launch was the 28th Kuaizhou-1A mission, and the 34th launch of the Kaizhou series. This was also the 61st launch from China in 2024.
Liftoff video via CNSpaceflight and 航天爱好者网.
The headline is a reference to the 2005 animated film Robots.
As of writing (December 4th), the Y number for this launch has not been shared by the manufacturer, ExPace often does not state the Y number.
Chinese companies, state-owned and private, use Y followed by a number to serialize launch mission numbering, similar to NASA with STS.
Check out the previous Kauizhou launch
![Business in the mountains [Kuaizhou-1A Flight-27]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1300,h_650,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe9925a8a-6538-4285-958d-ca09c800ed3d_3799x2058.jpeg)
What is Kuaizhou-1A?
This section is for those less familiar with China's various commercial launch vehicles.
The Kuaizhou-1A is one of the first commercial launch vehicles from China having been developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) and now manufactured by ExPace, a wholly owned subsidiary of CASIC. The first three stages of the vehicle burn an unspecified solid propellant with a liquid-fuelled fourth-stage for orbital insertion.
The payload capacity of the launch vehicle is currently as follows:
450 kilograms to low Earth orbit
360 kilograms to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit
300 kilograms to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit
On the launch pad, Kuaizhou-1A is believed to be 19.8 meters tall. Details about the vehicle are scarce but the fairing’s diameter is stated to be 1.8 meters. Four grid fins and various attitude control thrusters on the fourth-stage help control the vehicle during flight.
So far the Kuaizhou-1A has flown from all three inland launch sites, the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, and the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.